something homemade for the holidays - vanilla extract.

years ago i toyed with the idea of making some infused oils and vinegars to give away as gifts during the holidays. like many of my ideas back then, it was an idea that was not well thought out nor did i leave myself a lot of time to execute the idea, so it never came to pass.

a few months back i got on a big baking kick, and was using vanilla extract left and right. i kept thinking i needed to go to costco to get myself a bottle, but never got around to it. then i remembered that i had read an article some time before about how easy it was to make your own vanilla extract at home. you just needed to have a little bit of time.

so i went back online to do some research about making your own vanilla extract. the recipe was easier than i remembered. some vanilla beans, vodka (or any grain alcohol so long as it's 40% ABV) and a vessel. and of course, time. my only crux was the vanilla beans. it's not the most economical thing to buy at the market - it's usually about 2 to 3 pods in one jar for about $10 (or more!) and sometimes they look worse for the wear. an easy project to undertake, but could be just as costly, if not more, as buying some already made extract at the market.



but then i discovered beanilla.com. they specialize in vanilla beans and carry about 6 to 7 varieties of vanilla beans at any given time. they sell them singularly (1, 3, 5, and 10 beans) as well as in half pound and 1 pound bulk packs. based on some information i read on what variety of vanilla bean is good for different culinary applications, i opted to go for the bourbon vanilla beans to make the extract. i figured, if i was going to make some, then not only was i going to make some for myself, but a few extra to give away as gifts during the holidays. so i did a rough count and decided to make 10 bottles of extract, and so i purchased the half pound bulk pack (which contains 50 to 60 pods). even though it was sent first class postal, it arrived so quickly! the beans were vacuum sealed and looked better than any of the beans i had seen in the spice jars at the market. after the beans arrived i went to the container store for some bottles, and then to total wine and more for some vodka. i went home with two big bottles of smirnoff (and a couple of other things) and the girl that rang me up clearly thought i was having some kind of a big blowout party. ha ha!!



the total time spent wasn't even an hour. i boiled some water to pour into the bottles in order to sanitize them. while boiling the water, i scored each vanilla bean lenghtwise. poured the hot water into the bottles, and let them sit for a few minutes. once the hot water was poured out of the bottles, i added three pods to each bottle, followed up by a cup (8 fluid ounces) of vodka. seal and done! it sits in a cool, dark area for 8 weeks before it's ready to be used. the occasional gentle shaking of the bottle will help get it going. that's the time factor.



i even broke down the costs of the ingredients and the bottles to see if it was more cost efficient than buying a bottle at the store. here's what it broke down to per bottle:

bottle from the container store - $3.24

vanilla beans - $2.04 (based on approximate qty of 50 pods in the 1/2 pound bulk)

vodka - $2.24

total cost - $7.52 + my labor and time per bottle. the labor and time actively spent to make the vanilla extract was pretty minimal. you can see the size comparison of the bottle i made and gave away next to the last bottle i bought at the store. the recipe i followed yields about 8 fluid ounces (about 240ml) and the last bottle i bought was 4 fluid ounces (about 120ml) and i think i paid $8.49 for it.



as you use it, you can keep topping it off with vodka, and swap out the beans to keep it going. once the vanilla beans are removed from your extract, you can let it dry and make your own vanilla sugar or vanilla fleur de sel should you choose to. for myself, i ended up making two of these bottles instead of one big bottle - one to use, and the other as a "stock pile" so i can break into that one when the first one needs to be replenished.

the recipe:

3 vanilla beans, scored lengthwise

1 cup (8 fluid ounces) vodka*

combine the vanilla beans with a vodka and seal tightly. let sit for 8 weeks, checking on it every week or two to shake gently. then it's ready to use!

*i used vodka, but you can use gin or any other grain alcohol that's 40% alcohol by volume.

unintended hiatus and a new year.

it's already february and so it's a month late but happy new year! let's make 2012 an awesome one!

i had meant to post at least once in january, but it never happened! where did january go? i wish i could say it was all post-holiday madness but that really wouldn't be true. time just flew by!

i've never really been one for new year's resolutions - but i think it goes without saying that keeping this blog updated (on a somewhat regular basis) should be one of them. onward!

the omnivore's 100.

years after the original post, i came across the omnivore's 100 on the very good taste blog.

so here it goes. the basic rule is to copy the post, bold/highlight anything you have eaten, and strike out the item you would never consider eating.

1. venison

2. nettle tea

3. huevos rancheros

4. steak tartare

5. crocodile (i've had alligator - is that the same?)

6. black pudding

7. cheese fondue

8. carp

9. borscht

10. baba ghanoush

11. calamari

12. pho

13. pb&j sandwich

14. aloo gobi

15. hot dog from a street cart

16. epoisses

17. black truffle

18. fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. steamed pork buns

20. pistachio ice cream

21. heirloom tomatoes

22. fresh wild berries

23. foie gras

24. rice and beans

25. brawn, or head cheese

26. raw scotch bonnet pepper

27. dulce de leche

28. oysters

29. baklava

30. bagna cauda

31. wasabi peas

32. clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. salted lassi

34. sauerkraut

35. root beer float

36. cognac with a fat cigar

37. clotted cream tea

38. vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. gumbo

40. oxtail

41. curried goat

42. whole insects

43. phaal

44. goat’s milk

45. malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. fugu

47. chicken tikka masala

48. eel

49. krispy kreme original glazed doughnut

50. sea urchin

51. prickly pear

52. umeboshi

53. abalone

54. paneer

55. mcdonald’s big mac meal

56. spaetzle

57. dirty gin martini

58. beer above 8% ABV

59. poutine

60. carob chips

61. s’mores

62. sweetbreads

63. kaolin

64. currywurst

65. durian

66. frogs’ legs

67. beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. haggis

69. fried plantain

70. chitterlings, or andouillette

71. gazpacho

72. caviar and blini

73. louche absinthe

74. gjetost, or brunost

75. roadkill

76. baijiu

77. hostess fruit pie

78. snail

79. lapsang souchong

80. bellini

81. tom yum

82. eggs benedict

83. pocky

84. tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. kobe beef

86. hare

87. goulash

88. flowers

89. horse

90. criollo chocolate

91. spam

92. soft shell crab

93. rose harissa

94. catfish

95. mole poblano

96. bagel and lox

97. lobster thermidor

98. polenta

99. jamaican blue mountain coffee

100. snake

my total = 61 not bad, i think!

ludo truck buttermilk fried chicken.

ludo truck shrimp po' boy.

isaacream pop up bake sale.

national bundt day.

so a few months back my friend sent me a link to an article from the blog, the food librarian. upon reading, i was immediately hooked and added it to my reader subscriptions. the more i read, the more i learned that mary, the food librarian, was familiar with my home digs! we may have lots in common.

of course, in the beginning, i would read the most recent post, but at the same time i'd delve into some older ones. and i discovered that there was a day devoted to bundt cakes! november 15th. i have nothing against the bundt cake and it's probably the style of cake i like to bake the most. there's so many different types of bundt pans that are so pretty, it makes it easy to make a fancy looking cake!

i told my co-worker/friend p about it, and she was excited about it, especially since since we and several other co-workers just recently had a dessert potluck day just for fun. so, in honor of national bundt day, the two of us baked bundt cakes to share!



p made a chocolate chocolate chip sour cream bundt (the one that looks pretty with the powdered sugar spinkled on top) and i made a double ginger sour cream bundt (the one that is less pretty due to the issues i had when i flipped the cake.)



when p and i decided to make bundts for bundt day i immediately began to think what kind of cake to bake. i began to scroll through some of the food/recipe apps on my iphone. i came across a recipe for a double ginger sour cream bundt in the epicurious app, which was from an issue of bon appetit. i tweaked it a bit and was happy with the results. it's a yummy cake, pretty moist, and the crystallized ginger and sugar sprinkles add a nice texture while eating. the original recipe called for buttering the pan and coating it with raw sugar, but what i did was to make a simple syrup infused with ginger, and then brushed the cake with the syrup, and topped it off with some sanding sugar. it made me happy when a friend of mine, as well as my sister, who aren't big on ginger, loved the cake!







happy bundt day!